The blossom is out and the last couple of days I've worn a tee-shirt. Yes, it's been a gorgeous sunny end to winter and next week Spring officially begins with forecast temperatures in the mid-twenties. The blooming of Spring and the crackle of Autumn are my favourite times of year. I'm always ready for the … Continue reading Spring wishes
ASHI wish we'd never ventured onto the island. Not only is it completely in the wrong direction from the plains and our village, but we have lost one of our companions.It is no secret there was no love lost between the paladin and me, but despite his incessant blathering about his god, he was a … Continue reading D&D Chronicles: Tragedy at the island
In many ways I suppose this could be a good weekend for reading. But that's not what I'm supposed to be doing... I'm at a writers retreat. I'm supposed to be writing. I'm here in a house with eight fellow word wranglers. There are laptops everywhere. The floor is strewn with cables. Wine is being mulled... … Continue reading On a writing (not reading) retreat
I recently read Jo Walton's Among Others, winner of the 2012 Nebula, Hugo and British Fantasy Awards for best novel. Since it's one of the few recent SF novels I've read of late, I thought I would share some of my thoughts. [Mild spoilers...] Among Others has been described as many things: a fairy story, … Continue reading Thoughts on Among Others by Jo Walton
My introduction to Tolkien came when my dad read The Hobbit to my sisters and I as we sat around a campfire. Could there be a more perfect scenario? Our family was camping in South Australia's Flinders Ranges. I was about 11, my sisters younger. Our evening's entertainment consisted of hunkering around the fire that … Continue reading A campfire memory
ASH Ah, that paladin survived the wights after all... Although I fear Alix, despite fighting bravely, will bear emotional scars for a long time. Euphoric with relief at their triumph, I became rash and demanded to try one of the mysterious vigour leaves recently given us by Ergosh. We did after all need to find … Continue reading D&D Chronicles: Of gods, monsters and travelling
ASH The plains are calling me home. We've found the sacred vessel those cursed goblins stole from our village. We've avenged the deaths of our loved ones -- never have I enjoyed a battle as much as when we slaughtered the humanoids. My sword sang in my hands. For once, that paladin and I were … Continue reading D&D Chronicles: The paladin’s tale
There are many days as a writer when all I do is question myself. Is this novel any good? Do I have any talent at all? Should I just give up the whole writing thing as a bad idea? Who would actually bother reading anything I've written? Do I really want to add to all … Continue reading Your stories matter
My 10 year-old niece rang me this morning, all excited, to tell me she had won a top reading award at her school. Basically, they get points for the books they read, the harder books accruing more points and so forth. She's accumulated more points than anyone else in her school, and so was the … Continue reading Oh, to be a bookworm again
The action heated up in our most recent session of Dungeons and Dragons, in which we raided a goblin village, confronted three barrow wights and suffered random attacks from a 6-foot lizard and two pairs of snakes. Our raid of the goblin village was the high point for the night. A small band of them … Continue reading D&D Chronicles: Goblins and Barrow Wights
Ellen Gregory 